Both private companies who control a good portion of Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 12% decrease
Every investor in Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 54% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
While institutions who own 31% came under pressure after market cap dropped to US$4.6b last week,private companies took the most losses.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Comstock Resources, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Comstock Resources
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Comstock Resources?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
Comstock Resources already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Comstock Resources' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Comstock Resources. Arkoma Drilling, L.P. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 38% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 3.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that Miles Allison, the CEO has 0.6% of the shares allocated to their name.
A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 54% stake.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Comstock Resources
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Comstock Resources, Inc.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$72m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 14% stake in Comstock Resources. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 54%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Comstock Resources better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Comstock Resources that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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